Ogi’s

Unfortunately there is no way to give this restaurant no stars but it deserves it. First of all my parents took me out for a nice lunch for my birthday and it happened to be a week day. The place was empty when we got there and somehow we still had to wait a while for each things we asked for including drinks and more butter/​bread. I ordered the leek and potato soup which wasn’t bad but it was barely lukewarm. I ordered fish and my sister ordered a steak. My fish was way over seasoned and just didn’t taste right. My sisters steak was so tough that when she ran her knife through it it sounded like she was cutting through tree bark, she couldn’t even chew it. Our server went and told the manager so that she could take it off of our ticket since it wasn’t edible. The manager came out saying how nothing was wrong with the steak, people buy them from her all the time and never complain, she then said she would not take it off our check. She actually yelled at my mother and sister telling them they didn’t know what they were talking about because all of her food is amazing. The owner of this establishment is a b**ch and that’s the nicest thing I can call her. To top it all off a few hours after we left I began throwing up, her nasty fish gave me food poisoning. Don’t ever go here, I hope this crazy b**ch goes out of business.

Server was kind however he never came back to out table and I had to ask for my ticket and refills. The food was terrible, unfortunately it was canned vegetables dressed up like fresh. The chicken was dry and tasteless.

First clue there was a problem should have been the place was empty on a Friday night. Red lobsters wait was a hour so we decided to give it a try. Should have waited the hour! Over priced. Dirty, she brought me a empty bottle for the oil and vinegar that was nasty. I had to go wash my hands.. Poor service. Don’t waste your money. I get the impression the only people that go there are from out of town line because the locals know how terrible and tacky it is.

Not New American at all (at least not in Odessa). More New Bulgarian with a nod to the West Texas environs.
Shrimp appetizer had garlic notes (not overwhelming) with Bulgarian spices my server said he «couldn’t pronounce if I tried». Whatever they are, they have an almost Cajun feel without the taste of numbing heat. Served over fresh spinach with toast points.
Shopska Salad is a blend of roasted bell peppers, tomatoes, cucumber, onion and feta with a subtle olive oil. I would have preferred more peppers and less onions, but well-​balanced flavors overall. The feta isn’t overpowering and the onions would have perhaps benefited from a soak to strip some of the tang, but all veggies were fresh cut and crisp.
Known for their house-​made sausages, I had to try a few: the stuffed garlic and karnache made the cut. Stuffed garlic has full cloves inside yet a pleasantly sweet finish: I could still feel comfortable trying to kiss someone after eating this. The karnache is a Bulgarian specialty: a spiral of lamb in deer casing with a familiar heat incongruous with the main ingredients. After a moment of reflection: chorizo. Karnache reminds me of chorizo.

One star is one too many. The first warning shouldve been the incense burning in an american place. Entrees are between 16 and 34 dollars but they are worth maybe 9. Service is inept but friendly. The chef is just plain inept. Of course a hair in my dish didnt help.

A tablecloth, real napkin restaurant, in Odessa? Heck yeah. Ogi’s is an oasis in the midst of chain restaurants packed to the brim with locals and unattended children. If you want a nice, quiet, tasty dinner, this is the place to come.
Ogi’s is a little on the pricey side with dinner entrees priced $ 15 and up, but I would pay the premium not to wait in line, and to be able to have a quiet, uninterrupted dinner. Also, drink prices were very reasonable. Unlike some other reviews, our service on this Tuesday night at 7:30 was impeccable — just the right amount of checking in and courses timed pretty well.
The food?: We started with the side salad which was definitely not out of a bag. The lettuce was super fresh with cucumber, tomato and croutons. The jalapeño ranch dressing offering was super fresh with just the right amount of zing.
You also get sliced bread with butter which was nothing to write home about, but is good for dipping with the Ogi Chicken.
For an entrée we split the Ogi Chicken with a side of steamed veggies. The chicken itself was overcooked and tough. By itself, the chicken would have had no flavor. It’s the sauce that makes the dish: a wine, butter, herb, light cheese with a few mushrooms sauce. It would be nice to see the same care taken in the prep of the chicken that is given with the delicious sauce to bring it all together. And more mushrooms, please — they were yummy!
As a business traveler in the area, Ogi’s is a hit, and I cannot wait to return and try some other dishes.

I’m giving this place four stars based on geography: hands down the best place in Odessa but that’s not saying much. Also going for it the fact that is not a chain.
We got there 15 minutes before their kitchen would close for lunch and our waitress was, at first, very surly. She did warm up eventually.
First thing our waitress told us was that they were out of lettuce and tomatoes so they could not make a salad. Then my mother-​in-​law, who had planned to have a salad, asked if she could have a chicken salad sandwich and the waitress said they were out of that as well. Next question was could she then have a grilled cheese sandwich and the answer was no since it was in the children’s menu. Having a restaurant myself I understand not wanting to cater to every difficult customer’s need but seeing how they did not have either of the two things she wanted I think they should have made an exception.
Their menu had 2 items under a «vegetarian» section. Both of them pasta. I ordered angel hair with veggies. I’m happy to report the veggies were fresh and varied. Size was pretty small for the price, though. My husband ordered a bunch of sides and he was pleased. My Father-​in-​Law ordered a stuffed pepper and it looked interesting. He ate most of it. My M-​I-​L ended up ordering a ham sandwich. It came in untoasted white bread with a couple of thin slices of ham and… are you ready for this… Miracle of miracles! It had lettuce and tomatoes. No one else seemed to noticed and I kept my mouth shut because I did not want the M-​I-​L to start a scene as I was not in the mood for that. She ate about a quarter of the sandwich. It did seem pretty icky. I had my fresh veggies after a week of not finding any others anywhere so I was happy. And yes, I did try to get some stuff at Albertson’s and H-​E-​B to eat at the hotel room but most veggies at these places seemed a little pass their expiration date plus all I had at the hotel was a microwave. Why did not cook at my in-​laws? Let us not get into that…
In conclusion, when I go back to Odessa (and, unfortunately, I will) I will make sure to visit Ogi’s again.

Great food, good service, full bar, Can’t be beat.

A great European style restaurant. Great food and a full bar. Live music on the weekends. Everything is made in house. Lunch can be around $ 15 and dinner around $ 20 – 30 depending on what you order.
I’ve been there dozens of times and have never heard the bar next door. It’s a small place so if there are lots of folks there the service can be a bit slow but even that’s worth it for some of the best food in town!
The desert section is to die for, and you can forget your diet.
With a town full of Mexican food and steak houses this is a great change of pace.
I’m heading there now for lunch. Check it out yourself.

This place is definitely worth going to for lunch, but dinner… meh. Not so much. The menu leaves a lot to be desired… I expected more options for appetizers and dinner entrees. Not only was there really not much to choose from, but what you could choose from was overpriced in my opinion.
On top of what was fairly mediocre and sparse food (especially for what you pay), the service was HORRIBLE. Apparently, they had *maybe* three people working on a Friday night… and if you live in this area, you know that Friday and Saturday nights are THE night to go out to eat. We had to wait FOREVER to get served, to get our drinks, and finally… to get our check. Granted, the good part was that I was catching up with some friends so the wait wasn’t completely wasted, but it’s pretty bad when the waiter recommends ordering a bottle of wine instead of a glass because he doesn’t know when he’ll be back to get you refilled. The other majorly disturbing thing was the environment; apparently there is a VERY loud bar and grill next door and you could hear their bass booming through the restaurant walls! So much for a «peaceful» night out!
Ugh. I doubt I’ll be heading back anytime soon and recommend you head somewhere else.